NEW DELHI: Parimarjan Negi is surely one chess player who is trained to succeed. The world's youngest Grandmaster in the game today, the 14-year-old is firmly on the right track to realise his vast potential.

In the words of Viswanathan Anand, "Clearly, Parimarjan has got the talent. It's time to do something about it. I think, he is going about it systematically."

Young Parimarjan has been training with British GM Nigel Short, Anand's former trainer Elizbar Ubilava and in short stints with two-time former Soviet Union Russian champion Lev Psakhis and Ukraine's Alexander Goloshchapov.

"After becoming a GM last year, I have been training more and playing less than what I did during the my pre-GM days. Still I've been able to strike a fair balance between training and playing tournaments," said Parimarjan, during a press conference, and sounded as focussed as he did while chasing GM norms not-so-long ago.

Opening repertoire

"My opening repertoire has improved a lot since I first made a GM norm (in December 2005). I am better prepared now but my style is more or less the same. With Ubilava Sir, I've gained a lot while working on the openings. He is a good theoretician. He has helped me widen my choice of openings," said the youngster.

"Nigel Sir has a very good understanding of the positions. He can play differently, positionally or aggressively. His advises have been most useful. He focuses on the areas where I am likely to get into trouble. Also, the books suggested by Nigel Sir have been of great help," said Parimarjan, who loves to read everything from chess books to science fiction.

This year, Parimarjan has played four tournaments but gained some satisfaction only from his latest outing in the World Youth Stars in Kirishi, Russia.

"Sharing the first place was nice but what I was more happy with the fact that I played some quality games. I was consistent and led even after the penultimate round. The game against Yuriy Kuzubov was my best. I could have done better had I not blown away a chance to win easily against Rauf Mamedov. Anyways, it was a good learning experience," felt Parimarjan, considered by his coaches as one among their better students.

Training regularly with some of these reputed coaches comes with a price tag. In the past 15 months, Parimarjan's training and participation in tournament has cost over Rs. 45 lakh.

Admirably, Tata Tea supported Parimarjan to the tune of Rs. 30 lakh and the Union Ministry offered Rs. 18 lakh from its National Sports Development Fund. Parimarjan, one of the finest ambassadors among those supported by Tata, is fully aware of the expectations from him and works very hard to meet the challenges ahead.

"I try not to let the pressure of expectations affect my game," said the youngster who practises yoga as part of his daily fitness routine.

Parimarjan is leaving for Athens this weekend to train with Short for three weeks. He will be playing in Biel (Switzerland), Mainz (Germany) and Amsterdam (the Netherlands) in July and August.

"Thereafter, I have plans to play in the Asian championship and the World junior championship but nothing is confirmed. I am keen to play in the National 'A' in December," said the youngster eagerly looking forward to making his debut in the National championship.

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